


You're a...?

by Livedliveswilllive



Category: Amazingphil - Fandom, Dan Howell - Fandom, Danisnotonfire - Fandom, Phan, Phil Lester - Fandom
Genre: M/M, neko
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-05-31 14:46:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6474514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Livedliveswilllive/pseuds/Livedliveswilllive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Many years ago a war had broken out between human's and Neko's, the result being to divide every city across the world into two. A Neko side and a human side. Dan is a Neko living on the human side of his city, his friend Phil discovers his secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Discover

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea if this will be getting more content so please take it for what it is right now and enjoy!

Some thousand years ago the world had been split into two. Neko and human. Every city across the globe had a Neko side and a human side and it was illegal and punishable by life in prison to cross the divide in any one city.  
This spilt was a 'solution' to a war that had raged between the two species all those years ago. The thing was that with Neko's the second you messed with them, their family or someone they cared about they would strike with no questions asked and they could be viscous beyond belief, with sharp teeth and retractable claws that could rip through flesh in seconds. However, treat a Neko with kindness, love and care and they will be kind, loving and caring right back to you, loyal to the end.  
There were clear differences between the species of human and Neko, the extra sharp teeth and the retractable claws being just two of them. Neko's also sported two cat-like ears on top of their heads and cat-like tails that sprouted from the base of their tail bones. On top of this Neko's also had cat-like tendencies, needing attention and love In order to feel comfortable and not feel like they were going crazy. Dan Howell was a Neko, only he had managed to disguise himself as human. He tucked his tail into his jeans and wore a beanie all the time to cover his ears. He’d been attending a human school for just about a year now. He’d been so curious about what life was like on the human side, so one day he’d decided to find out. He knew he could be in a lot of trouble if anyone ever found out, but he had been having the best time of his life. He’d made a good group of new friends and everything. The only thing was that human life and school drained him a fair amount, his body still wasn’t used to this way of life and he was starting to doubt it ever would. Most days, if not all days he took the chance to nap during lunchtime. He’d climb the large tree around the back of the school and nap on one of the branches. Today though, as he napped his hat had managed to come loose, falling to the ground without him even knowing it was gone.

Phil had started noticing a pattern with his friend Dan, the brunet would be the first one at their table to arrive for lunch, he would eat like it was a race, and then when he thought no one was really looking, he vanished from the table. He was really good at vanishing, Dan was so quiet and careful at sneaking away that even Phil sometimes didn't notice him gone, he only ever did because the warmth at his side would start to cool and then he looked Dan wasn't there anymore; he wasn't anywhere to be found. But!!!! Today was different, he had kept his attention on Dan while pretending to be really into his current book, he noticed the moment Dan slipped away and not a moment later Phil followed, with that said the raven did get lost. 

'Where are you?' He thought to himself as he kept walking, he had followed Dan all the way outside but after that the brunet vanished, so now he was stuck and unsure of where to go. He started to just walked around trying to see if there was an open door on the outside of the school or a group of people, even a car. Phil didn't know what Dan was doing, but it worried him a little. Was he doing drugs? Was he making out with some girl? Was he running some lunchtime fight club? He wanted to know, Phil didn't want Dan to get hurt or in trouble. He was starting to circle the back of the school for the second time when he noticed something on the ground, he quickly rushed to it only to realize it was Dan's ironic SWAG beanie. "What is this doing out here?" He whispered to himself as he looked around, then something told him to look up, Phil was stunned as he stood there. High up in the tree was Dan, sleeping soundly; which would seem kind of normal this was high school. What shocked the raven was the fact that Dan had ears, not like costume prop ones, but real twitching ears. Dan was a Neko?! "What the heck!?" Shit! He yelled that, Phil quickly covered his mouth as he looked up shocked at Dan, hoping to the Heavens above he didn't wake him up.

Dan was jolted out of his comfortable sleep by a loud noise, a voice. He scrambled for a moment to keep his balance on the branch, having to wrap his legs and arms around it to do so. Once he'd steadied himself he slowly sat up on the branch. His ears twitched and turned in ever direction, searching for what had made the sound that woke him. He glanced down to see one of his friends, Phil Lester standing at the base of the tree, his beanie in hand. Dan only now had realised his beanie wasn't on his head. Panicked he checked his head, as if the hat would somehow be there if he did "Phil" he whimpered softly, fear showing in his eyes now as the reality that Phil knew what-who he was sunk in. "Please don't tell" he whined.

"W-Why?" He didn't mean why should he not tell anyone so much as he was asking why Dan never told him, he knew they didn't know each other too long but out of everyone in their friends group, they had the best...Well you could call it a connection, they spent anytime outside of school or after school together; they were really close. "Why did you never tell me?" The hurt in his voice was real, did Dan not trust him? Did he really think he would turn his best friend over to the police or tell everyone in school. "I won't tell anyone...Don't worry about that." He frowned a little before looking down at the beanie in hand, he sighed before looking up at Dan. "Catch and get down here." He knew this wasn't the right time, but he wanted answer...Or at least an answer.

Dan bit his lip, looking down at Phil, hearing the pain in his voice cut like a knife. He caught the beanie as it was thrown to him and secured it back into his head before he swung down to land in front of Phil with great skill. He couldn't bring himself to look at Phil, but he spoke "I know you probably think I didn't trust you...I do, you're one of the best people I've ever meet. Phil, Neko or not. I just...I was scared. Growing up they tell us about all the bad things humans can do to Neko's if they get caught over here, not just prison but torture, painful things.." he paused for a second "I was scared that if I told anyone, even if I trusted them that other people could find out and those things would happen to me...I'm sorry I..I Phil..." he trailed off, shaking his head. He felt like he could cry, his legs were shaking as his mind played over and over all the things he had been told growing up that could happen to him "I-I don't want my ears pulled off" he whimpered.

Phil really wanted to feel hurt about this, he wanted to show Dan that he trusted him but he didn't trust Phil, but the moment Dan opened his mouth and started telling Phil why; he couldn't stay hurt, it was impossible. "I'm sorry, Dan." He said quickly before hugging him, he knew Dan wasn't super into the whole hugging and Phil now realized why that was; he could feel a slight raise at Dan's back where he tail was most likely at. Phil pulled away after a moment and looked at Dan, he was a little warmer now as well. "I promise I won't tell anyone...Truthfully, I don't really trust any of our friends with something like this, the only person I really trust is you." He replied with a slight smile, a moment later his expression changed as he looked down at Dan's hands; without thinking he took one and pulled it up. "I thought Neko's had claws... and Whiskers."

Dan smiled a little as Phil pulled him into a hug. He let his eyes closed and willed himself not to make a sound, he would normally purr at the contact or mew, but he didn't exactly want to be doing either, especially in front of Phil. He couldn't help but let out a small giggle as Phil grabbed for his hand "Claws, yes. Whiskers no" he said softly as he let his claws extend from the tips of his fingers to show Phil. "Where did you get the whiskers thing from?" he asked, raising a brow up at him "Because that's just wrong" he laughed softly, giving him a tiny smile "I guess humans don't really get educated about Neko" he shrugged.  
Stranger: "Primary history lessons, we were taught about the war and about Nekos. They told us you can tell something is a Neko from their slited pupils, ears, tail, claws, and their whiskers." Phil replied as he looked at the claws slowly extend out. "Wow, that's amazing. So they're usually hiding, that's really handy." He looked up at Dan before leaning in closer to him, their noses were almost touching as Phil tilted his head to the side before realizing just how close they were, it was cross it a bit now. "Uh...I-If the whiskers are a lie, are your pupils as well?" He asked as he kept staring, trying not to blush as he could feel Dan's breath on his cheek. "I can't tell, your eyes are too dark."

Dan gave a tiny giggle at what Phil had said before he moved in closer to him. He liked the closeness, in fact being this close with someone was rather normal for a Neko. He gave a small nod to Phil's question "The pupils are a lie. The only accurate things in that is the ears, tail and claws" he said softly, giving him a quick smile "Did they say anything else? like personality or customs?" he asked. He actually found this rather interesting. How could humans get this so wrong? he'd found during his time here that the things they had been taught about humans were more or less accurate. Did humans hate Neko's so much they'd forgotten about what they really were and made things up in place of the lost information? he could hardly believe his species were so hated that they couldn't even get the facts right.

"Uh...um..." He was at a loss of words as Dan moved in even closer, something in Phil's head told him to back the fluff up, but it seemed that right now his legs were not connected to his brain as they stayed put as if made of marble. "O-O-Okay." He muttered as he tried to look away from Dan and thought about what he asked, this was normal, perfectly normal. "Uh...Something about anger, Nekos were extremely angry and hostile creatures." Yeah that was it, he could remember now that he wasn't staring at Dan's warm brown eyes. "I'm just quoting what I remember." He said before continuing. "Manipulative and sly. Nekos will do anything to harm humans, to come to the human side and create destruction. Their hatred for humans extend back to when they were beaten in the war which is why the great divide was created, they are cold heartless creatures. Whatever you do do not trust them, they are not your friend, they cannot feel love, they only want to hurt you." He finished as he looked a little guilty, he hadn't been the one who said that but all his friends believed that. "...I don't believe any of that, well except for the whiskers and eyes. I never did believe Nekos were evil just...Oppressed."

Dan's eyes widened and he shook, his head as he stepped back from Phil "Humans are vile" he mumbled under his breath "They are the one's who attacked us, they wanted slaves and they new Neko's would be perfect for that because of how kind and loving we are, loyal to the end...they just didn't anticipant that we would fight back" he grumbled lowly "When we are messed with, or our family is messed with, that is when we are vicious. We're strong and the human's didn't know that" he sighed softly, shaking his head "We feel more love in our pinkie fingers then humans do in their whole bodies" he sighed softly, glancing up at Phil "Human's are the evil one's, not us" he mumbled softly, shaking his head once more. He couldn't believe the vile lies being taught here. It was no wonder all those terrible things happened to Neko's in prison, if that is what they thought of them. He gave a large sigh and slumped against the tree he had been in before "If they felt love, they wouldn't have taken my parents" he whispered.

Phil watched Dan with a sad expression, he had once believed that...For about a few hours, then his mother and father set it straight for him. He couldn't help but smile a little bit at the memory, how they explained everything to him; it scared him how wrong everything was. "I know...We're such horrible creatures...We always have been." Phil muttered as he rubbed his arm, he wanted to comfort Dan but seriously what could he do? It wasn't like he could right all the wrong the government and society had created, heck his parents got in trouble more than once for being Pro-Neko. "I promise I won't ever think of you the way we were taught, I know Nekos aren't evil. Like you said, you're protective of your family; you have to be." Phil slowly moved closer to Dan, not sure if the Neko wanted some space or not; he knew a little less of that. "I'm so sorry about your parents, but I promise-" He was an arms length away from Dan when he took his hand. "-I won't let anyone hurt you."

Dan looked up at Phil, giving him a small smile and nodded "Thank you" he said softly, tugging on Phil's hand slightly in an attempt to get him to come closer to him. "I got my parents back, they were never the same though" he said softly, watching as Phil moved to sit next to him "I don't know what was done to them, but I'm sure it had to be hell" he sighed and moved in closer to Phil slightly, resting his head on Phil's shoulder gently "I needed to know what life was like over here, it's been nice. Especially getting to meet you" he gave a soft giggle, just as one of their other friends started to walk toward the pair "There's the love birds!" he heard the other boy call with a laugh.

The raven was about to say something when their friend neared then, Phil blushed a little but soon enough glared at their friend; it seemed they got the message, leave! "Alright alright, just don't go fucking out here, you might get a bug up your ass." The other boy chuckled as he started walking away, narrowly missing the stick Phil threw at him, the raven waited until he was gone before turning back to Dan. "It must have been, I hear the news." He replied as he took Dan's hand and held it, it was nice being this close to him. "It is nice getting to meet you." Phil giggled as he started playing with Dan's fingers. "...There is some good...Slowly more and more people are starting to snap out of this trance everyone seems to be in and are realizing what we're doing to Nekos is wrong, maybe one day the divide will be broke...That would be nice." He glanced over at Dan before reaching up and gently lifting the beanie up to let a single ear poke out, he smiled before gently scratching behind it. "Does it feel good?" All he had to go on was things he remembered his childhood friend's cat liked.  
Dan nodded "Yeah, it would be nice if one day the divide wasn't there" he said softly "I would love to be able to just come and go freely, It would be fun" he giggled softly. He glanced over to see their other friend now disappearing into the distance "Do you think he means well?" he asked softly before his thoughts were distracted by Phil scratching behind his ear. He leaned into the touch, a low purr starting to escape from the back of his throat. It had been so long since he'd been touched like this and his body was lapping it up. He let his eyes fall closed, not even being able to answer Phil's question although he was sure the reaction he was having was more then enough of an answer.

He could feel Dan's weight dropping onto his shoulder and he couldn't help but softly giggle, okay so this was working. Phil smiled as he kept scratching and not even a minute later he heard the low soft purring, it made Dan's body vibrate a little. "You're so cute, Dan." He said softly before realizing that hadn't been in his head, he wanted to stop but he quickly realized that Dan most likely hadn't heard him so he just kept going. "A world where you can walk around without this beanie and with your tail out, like it use to be." Phil said softly, his gentle scratching shifted as he started going down Dan's jaw.  
You: Dan nodded slightly as Phil spoke "Hmh, yes" he said softly. He lifted his head slightly as Phil started to move his scratching down to his jaw, he hoped the action would be enough for Phil to understand he wanted to be scratched underneath his chin. He was loving the attention, he never wanted it to stop. He liked it more then anything, it might of also helped that the attention was coming form Phil. He knew they hadn't exactly known each other for the longest time but their bond had been quick and deep, something Dan had never really experienced. He knew people thought they were dating or something and honestly, Dan wasn't entirely opposed to that idea.

Phil quickly got the message when Dan lifted up his chin, he giggled but his hand quickly moved to it. "I think I know where one of your soft spots are~" He teased before moving his hand down slightly to the curve of Dan's neck and gave it long scratches from the base almost up to the tip of his chin. "I remember from my friend's cat, I thought you might have the same spot." Phil replied as he kept going wiggling his fingers a little as he did, he was really enjoying this feeling of being close to Dan; it was really nice and it made his mind go to what it would be like if they could do other things like kiss or hug, or just lie down together in the sun soaked grass and played with each other's hair and hands as they talked. Phil quickly realized he was blushing and decided to say something, quickly. "Uh..er...Did I ever tell you how my granddad was save by a Neko while at war?" Not the best topic but it was the only thing Phil could think of on the spot.

Dan was practically melting into Phil's hands as he stroked and scratched at his neck and under his chin. He felt like he was in heaven. His purrs had gotten louder, causing his entire body to vibrate even more. He opened one eye when Phil spoke, raising a brow at him s lightly for a moment "No, how'd that happen?" he asked, rather interested in hearing the story, also rather interested in if Phil's grandfather was pro or anit-Neko after that experience, although he doubted someone who had been saved by his kind could still go on hating his kind.

He was so glad Dan didn't comment about his flushed face, he moved his hand away from Dan's chin. "It was back when the war was still young, my granddad was a huge Anti-Neko guy. He blamed them for everything, from his bad morning tea to global warming so when he heard that war was declared, he was one of the first to sign up and join. A few years passed, my dad was a little at the time when it happened. My granddad was shot, friendly fire I guess...Did Nekos use guns during the war?" The question was out of place but he never learned about it in social studies. "Anyway, he was bleeding a lot, he couldn't walk and it was getting dark; my granddad crawled as he could and got into a trench fox hole thing. He was losing so much blood that he thought he was going to die, but then he saw something; he said it was like lightning bugs but bigger as it got closer. It was a young Neko who has been hiding in the hole, his eyes shined in the setting sun, my granddad thought that was going to be the end of him...But then the Neko started talking to him and checking his wounds, and then he realized how bad they were; he picked my granddad up on his back and carried him. He carried him for ten miles back to camp before apologizing he couldn't take my granddad all the way in, he left my him as close as he could and watched from far away until my granddad was rescued by the other men. My granddad would tell me that story over and over, it was my favorite one to hear before bed time." Phil smiled as he looked at Dan. "I wish others could hear it, but when I tell our friends they laugh and say it must have been a fever dream or something made up by my granddad."

Dan listened to the story with a small smile on his face, it was nice and sounded exactly like something a Neko would do. He opened his other eye once Phil had finished talking and sat up a little bit, trying to straighten himself out a little bit before he shook his head "Neko's didn't have guns in the war, we lived...well we live a very naturalistic life style, you know? no weapons, we live of the land, that kind of thing..we live in family groups, kind of like packs I guess" he gave a slight shrug "It was so weird coming here for the first time. Everything is so big, buildings ever where, cars" he hummed softly "Nothing like home."  
Stranger: "Really?" Phil asked as he heard about Dan's home, it sounded simple and nice. "I would love to see it, but I don't think I'd be able to..." He grew quiet as he sat there before swallowing hard. "Dan...Do Nekos hate humans as much as they hate Nekos?" He was kind of scared to ask, they had every right to, it was humans fault they practically lived fenced in. "No guns, no protection. That sounds really unfair, no wonder we won; it was like shooting caged birds." Phil muttered before sighing, he rubbed his eyes as he could feel them stinging.

Dan nodded "Yeah, it's really nice. The kids running around in the grass, is always my favourite thing" he gave a small sigh, looking over at him "They only hate humans if they are shown a reason too" he explained softly "Everyone is judged on an individual level. If you're nice to us, we show you the same kindness and love back. If you're hostile that is what we reflect back" he said softly, chewing on his lip, looking up at him "If I'm honest with you, if took a lot for me to get used to all this, taking the buses, living alone, hell even wearing clothes" he gave a small giggle, feeling his cheeks flush slightly "I'm sure if you really wanted to see my home my people would welcome you with open arms, as long as you did the same...although I sure it would be kind of a culture shock for you, just as here was a culture shock for me" he shrugged slightly and smiled over at him.

Phil looked surprised when Dan said that, he couldn't help but smile, it really sounded like Heaven on Earth. "It sounds really nice." He replied before hearing about the Neko learning to wear clothes, this made the flush come back to his cheeks. "Wait, so Nekos don't normally wear clothes?" Well that would make for an interesting time, would he have to strip down as well. "I think that would be a huge culture shock for me, I like clothes." He giggled as he hugged himself close as he tried to keep away the images of Dan naked, he wondered if he had a nice body. Phil quickly realized what he was thinking and shook it, no Dan was his friend; he couldn't think of him like that. He was about to say something when the bell rang, Phil sighed as he didn't want to leave Dan's side yet. "I would like to see it myself one day...Will you take me, Dan?"

Dan chuckled softly "We cover up our..you know, but we don't wear clothes in the same way that human's do" he explained softly, chewing on his lip slightly. He jumped slightly as the bell rang and he gave a small sigh. He didn't want to go back to class, he wanted to just stay here like this with Phil for the rest of the day. He liked just talking to him, but he knew they would both be in trouble if they didn't go to class. He got up reluctantly and helped Phil up as well. He gave him a nod "Of course, I'd take you there tonight if you wanted to, I'm due for a visit home anyway" he smiled softly at him "I've been going home to see everyone every few weeks, although I do have a house on this side of the divide" he explained.

He got up with Dan's help, shaking off leaves and dirt from his pants before looking up at the Neko and fixed Dan's beanie. "Oh, well that's good to know." He tried to hide his blush but he was sure that was impossible, his mind was still rushing with the images from before; he really couldn't get away from them. It was then that he heard Dan, he looked at him wide eyed. "Really, tonight?!" He didn't expect to go so soon, he was excited and kind of nervous as well. Would they like him over there? Could he possible make a fool of himself? What if he accidentally made them angry at him?! He shook his head again before looking at the school then at Dan, before the Neko could walk off, Phil grabbed the edge of his shirt. "Wait..." He bit down on his bottom lip as he seemed to think hard. "I...Let's skip class." Risky, yes but he wanted to get a bag ready for tonight and also spend some more time with Dan.

Dan was about to take a step toward the school building before he felt Phil grab onto the edge of his shirt. He turned to look at him, raising a brow slightly "Are you serious?" he asked, almost not believing him "Where would we even go?" he asked, chewing on his lip slightly "I mean, I guess we could go to mind if you wanted to, or yours" he gave a small shrug "I'd be up for it" he said softly, deciding in that moment that if Phil was serious about skipping then he would join him, he actually liked the idea a lot of being able to spend some more time with Phil, plus being able to let out his tail was always a plus in his eyes.

"Yours, even if my parents are really accepting of Nekos I would rather not have them nervous about having you over, let's go to yours." He had yet to see Dan's place so that was also a plus. "I am serious about doing this, I haven't skipped school since junior high school; let do it!" Phil said happily before taking Dan's hand, he relished the feeling for a moment before pulling him along. Behind the school was a small forest that lead out to a road, a five minute walk and they would be at the bus stop. "I'll just get some thing from my house and then go over to yours. How long will we be on the other side?" He would need to pack more or less depending on it.

Dan nodded, letting Phil take his hand and lead him out to the very back of the school, into the woods. The woods at the very back of the school had always reminded him of home. It was nice really. He gave a small shrug "A good couple of hours, possibly the night. You don't have to stay the night though if you don't want to" he smiled softly over at him. He gave their arms a bit of a swing as they walked, loving the contact of Phil's hand in his own. He knew for sure that his clan as they called them were going to love Phil, how could they not? he was so kind and genuine. It was almost like Phil was a Neko, not a human at all.

Phil looked back at him before shaking his head. "No, I do want to stay the night, it sounds fun." He replied with a smile, he gave Dan's hand a gentle squeeze as they kept walking slowly; alright Phil wanted to relish the moment. "The way you describe it, it sounds like Heaven. Like this garden of Eden locked away by humanity." A soft smile grazed his face, he was going to see it for himself soon enough. Phil gave another glance back at Dan before getting a mischievous look on his face, he turned back and let go of Dan's hand. Another glance back at Dan, he smirked as he moved just a little bit away from him. When Dan tried to take his hand again, he practically skipped away before giggling and looked back almost daring Dan to try and catch him.

Dan nodded "Yeah, it's really nice. I'm not sure if it could live up to the image of the garden of Eden but it's nice, it's my home" he shrugged with a small giggle. He pouted slightly when Phil let go of his hand. He moved forward, trying to grab hold of Phil's hand again, although Phil darted and skipped away from him. He could tell Phil was trying to make this a game, daring him to catch him "Oh, don't you try me" he giggled before he started to sprint after Phil. He knew he was fast, growing up in a clan pretty much ensured you were. It didn't take him long to catch Phil. He tackled him, although making sure he was as gentle as he could. He didn't want to hurt the other as they both fell onto the grass. Dan gave a small giggle, looking down at the other "Gotcha" he teased.

He tried his best to keep away, jumping and skipping, and darting away from Dan's hand; but he was no match for a Neko. The game didn't last long and before he knew it, Phil was tackled by Dan. He was laughing as they landed in the grass, it tickled against his neck and felt cool against his back. He tried to stop the giggling and catch his breath, Phil knew he was unfit so his heavy breath was pretty normal. Once he was about to look up, he found himself chest to chest with Dan; his breathing grew more shallow as he stared at him. "You caught m-me." Phil muttered softly as he could feel Dan's firm but gentle grip on his wrists, keeping them pinned down on either side of Phil's head so he couldn't escape. Phil found himself blushing again as this was a really compromising position, but he didn't even try to move. "W-What do you want as your reward?"

Dan bit his lip, giving a soft hum as he looked down at Phil "Hmh, well what do you think I should get as my reward?" he asked softly. He couldn't keep the thoughts of just leaning down and kissing Phil from entering his mind. All this was like some romantic movie and honestly it was perfect. He tried his best to shake the thoughts of kissing Phil from his mind, Phil was his best friend. Not his boyfriend, but he couldn't shake the thoughts from his mind and he was sure the fact that he'd been staring at Phil's lips the entire time he'd been thinking was more then a dead give away about what it was he wanted. He only hoped Phil wouldn't hate him or be creeped out by the fact that this was how Dan was thinking.

Phil waited as he tried to squeeze his legs shut, he didn't want to have some embarrassing to happen to him while under Dan; oh that was not helping the mental image he had right now. He was getting a little antsy as Dan loomed over him without saying anything, was he doing this on purpose? Phil looked up at him and almost shuddered at how the Neko was staring at him, it was kind of scary in a way. "Are...Are you going to pick...?" He voice was a little soft as he spoke, Dan's eyes were drilling into his lips and he had to admit was kind of making him hot and flustered. "...Dan." Phil muttered as he leaned up a little closer to the Neko, his hands easily slipping out of Dan's grip as he almost sat up; they were so close. He hesitated for a moment before kissing Dan, it was soft and gentle before Phil pulled back.

Dan had barely heard Phil speak, it was like he could hear him but he couldn't understand what he was saying. He felt Phil's hands slipping out of his grip, the other boy sitting up a little bit before he felt Phil's lips press against his own. His eyes went wide for a second before he relaxed and they closed. He melted into the kiss, kissing Phil back gently and wrapping his arms around him, loosely yet secured. He whined a little from the back of his throat as Phil pulled away. He opened his eyes, studying him for a moment "Phil I" he stuttered softly, unable to even start forming words. He took a moment to compose himself before attempting to speak again "I really liked that" he managed to get out.

He couldn't believe he kissed Dan, Dan his best friend and...well he really liked it; maybe he had always wanted this. All the jokes aside, Phil did have a crush on Dan; a pretty big one which most of his friend had picked up on. He looked up at Dan as the Neko spoke, it made Phil smile as his stuttering. "Me too." He replied as he could feel the warm around him, he leaned in and kissed Dan again, it was longer than before; he took his sweet time this time around. Phil wrapped his arms around Dan's neck as he kept kissing him, he only pulled back when he was out of breath; he never got use to breathing through his nose while kissing...Not that he got much practice either, not since junior high.

Dan smiled softly as Phil said he had liked the kiss as well, before Phil's lips were pressed against his own once more. He melted into the kiss, glad that this time it was longer, sweeter with a bit more passion behind it. His eyes fell shut once again as he kissed Phil. He kept his arms wrapped around Phil, holding him close to his body as they kissed. Phil pulled away to breath, Dan giving him enough time to do that only before he reconnected their lips. He didn't want to stop kissing Phil, he wanted to hold him and kiss him forever. It was like a well of emotions for Phil that he had been pretending weren't there had over flowed inside him and he was determined to communicate how he felt to Phil without using a single word, he wasn't even sure if there were words to describe how he felt in this moment.

Phil felt Dan press another kiss and shivered, how could something so warm make him shiver like this; it was such a good feeling as well. "Mhm~" He let out a soft moan as he kissed back, his fingers digging into Dan's shirt as he melted against the Neko's lips. The kissing he experienced in middle school was nothing compared to this, that was like a sparkler and this, this was like one of those huge illegal fireworks that went off and lit up the entire night sky. Phil was too much into the moment to realize they were falling, that was until his back hit the grass. He broke the kiss for a moment to realize what happened before pulling Dan down to continue, could he grow addicted to Dan's lips; oh God he hoped he could.

Dan grumbled slightly against Phil's lips as they fall back, Phil's back hitting the grass under them once more. He didn't really care if he was honest. All he wanted was to kiss Phil, to hold him and never let him go. Maybe this was what the elders of his clan were talking about when they spoke of soul mates and true love. They would always go on about how everyone in the world had someone who was their soul mate, they just had to find them. Some people's soul mates were their best friends, other's had soul mates that were lovers. Soul mates came in every form imaginable, your job was to find yours in life. Could Phil be Dan's soul mate? he hoped so, he wanted him to be. Especially because of the way this moment in time was making him feel. After what had to be a long while Dan broke off the kiss "We should get going" he said in a soft whisper, although keeping his face as close to Phil's as he could get it.

He felt Dan pulled back and softly panted as he listen to him, Phil was still a little out of it; his head was swimming and he felt hot but he understood Dan. "Yeah." He muttered as he licked his lips, they really needed to go before school got out or they missed their bus; maybe even both. Phil connected their lips once more for a last kiss before getting up, the raven cleaned himself off before adjusting Dan's beanie. "Come on." He took Dan's hand and started leading him away once more, maybe they could kiss more once they got to Dan's place, he hoped so but right now the needed to worry about getting on the bus.

Dan smiled softly as Phil adjusted his beanie for him. He stood up and brushed himself off, letting Phil take his hand as they headed toward the bus stop. He made a mental note to talk to the elders tonight, he knew they would understand what he was feeling better then even he himself could. He just hoped they would be able to help him get in straight in his own head. He stood with Phil at the bus stop, the bus arriving not to long after they'd gotten their. They climbed on and took the short ride to Phil's house where he packed a bag for the night. They both had to get on another bus to go to Dan's house. He had a small apartment, one of the buildings that was closest to the divide. It was kind of nice to be able to look out his window and see across over into his home land. Nothing but trees for miles, a few small pilers of smoke here and there, camp fires from different clan homes out there. He couldn't wait for Phil to see it.

"I think I might have packed a bit too much." Phil muttered as they headed to Dan's place, he shifted a little in the bus seat before looking over at Dan. "I'm kind of nervous, I hope they like me." He did worry about being liked by Dan's clan, he didn't want them to disapprove of their relationship. Phil took Dan's hand as they sat there in silence, it didn't take long for them to arrive and soon they were off the bus and headed toward Dan's apartment. "Wow it's really close to the divide." Phil gasped, so this was how Dan got back and forth easy-ish. "Tell me more about Nekos." He said once they were safely in Dan's apartment, he looked around though not even daring to let go of Dan's hand. "The real truth, not what they teach humans." Phil was super curious, he wanted to know it all. "What do you normally eat? Do you live in cave or do you build houses? Is there a leader for each clan? Can male Nekos get pregnant?"

 

Once they were inside Dan took off the beanie, tossing it onto his sofa. He gave his hair a ruffle with his free hand then reached behind himself. He fished out his tail, letting out a small sigh of relief. Having his tail hidden in his pants all day long was not the best thing in the world. He looked over at Phil once he had finished asking what felt like a thousand questions "I normally eat meat with a few fruits and vegetables. I prefer one's that I would be able to find at home. We build little hut kind of things, one hut per biological family. There are leaders, the elders. They are the oldest Neko's of the clan, they are very wise and are to be treated with the upmost respect, they make the decisions for the clan and finally, yes Male Neko's can get pregnant but only at certain times, male Neko's go through a kind of...cycle I guess you could say and there is only a small window in that cycle that they are able to get pregnant, female Neko's can fall pregnant at anytime." he finished, hoping that he had answered all of Phil's questions.

 

Phil listened intently to Dan, he smiled as soon enough the Neko took off the beanie and showed his tail; he knew he shouldn't laugh but he looked so cute. "Your tail and ears are so adorable." He cooed before getting all of his questions answered, his eyes widened as Dan even got them in the right order. "Wow." Was all he could say as his brain processed it. "So you can get pregnant, wow...You'd look cute." The last part was muttered softly as he could almost imagine it, Dan with a little tummy sticking out, him sleeping curled on his side around his swollen belly. "So you go into Heat, like normal cats do; but yours include males." That was really cool actually, Phil reached for Dan to sit down on the couch with him.

Dan giggled softly at Phil's comments, he liked being called cute. The words sounded even better from Phil's lips, he moved to sit down on the sofa with Phil, moving into him slightly so that their thighs were touching. He nodded "Yeah, female Neko's don't really have the cycle thing like male Neko's do though" he said softly, looking over at him "I think it would be nice to have kids one day" he said softly, glancing down at his stomach for a moment "I can just image having a baby in there" he giggled softly before looking up at Phil again "Although, I think I should wait a while yet before that happens" he giggled softly once more and sighed contently . He glanced over at the clock on the wall and hummed softly "We should wait till schools out before crossing the divide."

He looked at Dan's stomach before nodding. "Yeah, that would be adorable. You would make a great mother." He teased him before hesitantly reaching down and rubbing Dan's tummy, he could feel the skin quiver under his touch and the shirt. "Hmmm...Softer than I expected." Phil said as he poked him gently before pulling his hand away. "How do you know when your Heat starts?" Though soon enough he heard Dan say something about waiting, Phil nodded. "We should wait, I don't want you to end up getting caught and sent to jail." Phil frowned as his hand quickly took Dan's he sighed as he squeezed it gently. He didn't want to think about this, he wanted to think about something else, literally anything else.  
Dan looked back at Phil when he spoke, giving him a small smile "It comes at about the same time every two months. I'm not due for another window again for another month and a half" he said softly, chewing on his lip slightly "I don't really think of it as a heat, it's not like we get hyper sexual during the window" he explained "It's kind of like..." he paused, trying to think of something more human to compare it too "Ovulation I guess" he gave a small shrug and snuggled up into Phil a little more. He wanted to just take in being close to Phil, the sensations it gave him to have the other boy this close to him. "Did you want something to ear or drink while we wait?" he asked, only now realising he hadn't actually offered Phil anything, which was seen as rather rude in his home land.


	2. Star Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan takes Phil to the Neko side, the same night the Neko's celebrate the star festival, A festival that celebrates being free from the war and the violence that came with it. Dan's clan are quick to expect Phil as an unofficial member.

"Oh." Phil replied as Dan explained to him, the raven wasn't sure what he was expecting when Dan told him he could get pregnant. "I see. Wow, that's kind of amazing. Do you just feel normal, U heard some animals can feel themselves ovulate; like, they just feel it the moment it happens." He needed to shut up but he was so excited and happy, and just on the edge of jumping out of his seat; He was going to the other side of the divide. "I'm fine, I don't need anything" he replied to answer Dan's question. He shifted closer to Dan and started to run his fingers over Dan's chin before running it over the underside. 

Dan nodded "Yeah, you can feel it. It's kind of hard to explain, you can just feel it" he gave a small shrug. He felt instantly relaxed as he felt Phil start to run his finger over his chin, once again he leaned into the touch, letting out a low purr as he did "It's all probably weird to you, huh?" he asked, looking over at him "Well, if it makes you feel better, humans are weird to me too" he giggled. 

Phil smiled softly as he kept scratching under Dan's chin, his fingers curled under his chin. He kept scratching as he listened to the Neko speak about his ovulation and how humans were weird. He smiled and leaned close to him "It is a little weird but yeah we are weird. We do weird things." Phil replied before pulling his hand away slowly before leaning in a little closer "Dan, can we kiss again?" he asked softly as he looked at Dan's lips before glancing up at those soft chocolate brown eyes. 

Dan grew more and more relaxed the longer Phil scratched under his chin, it took him a second to actually work out what Phil had said. He nodded after a moment of silence "Of course" he giggled before closing the gap between them and pressing his lips to Phil's in a deep, passionate kiss. He loved the way kissing Phil made him feel. It was like a thousand shooting stars, a ember that exploded into a flame. He wanted more with each second that past. It did cement one thing in his mind, he would defiantly need to talk to the elders about this. He needed to express all his feelings to someone he knew would understand what he was saying. 

Phil was glad to feel Dan kiss him once more, he smiled into it and slowly wrapped his arms around him, pulling him in closer. The kiss made him tingle and shiver, he could have sworn he could feel explosions happening behind him as if he was in a firework show. Phil couldn't last very long and after a moment he needed to pull back. His breathing was heavy but it didn't take long for him to press another kiss to the Neko's lips. his nails gently dragged down Dan's back, at times grabbing his shirt and holding onto it as if he feared that Dan could he taken at any second. 

Dan smiled against Phil's lips, he loved the way that Phil held onto him. He draped his arms over Phil's shoulders, pressing his body as close to Phil's as he could. He gave a pout when Phil pulled away, although it quickly disappeared as Phil's lips pressed to his again.

They kissed for a long while, only stopping to breath. Dan was laying back against the sofa by the time they had finished. Dan looked up at Phil, panting "I can't get over how good that feels" he whispered up at him, his ears twitching slightly. 

Phil was looming over Dan as he softly panted, he really needed to get used to breathing through his nose. The raven smiled as heard the other whisper under him, he nodded "I know the feeling" he teased as he gently flicked at Dan's ear as it twitched against his fingertip. He would gently tap at it every few seconds before turning back to the brunet. Phil was about to say something but his stomach bet him to it, growling lowly, making him flush "Is the offer from earlier still open?" 

Dan couldn't help but giggle as Phil's stomach growled. He nodded "Of course, I hope you're okay with meat though. That's about all I have right now" he shrugged slightly before shuffling himself out from under Phil. He glanced at the clock as he headed toward the kitchen "We could probably make a move once you're done eating if you wanted" he said softly as he opened the fridge and pulled out a drumstick with a bit of white meat from a chicken for Phil. He heated it in the microwave before taking it to him "I really hope it's okay.." he said softly. 

"I'm sure it will be fine" he replied as he got up, he smoothed down his clothes; They had gotten a bit grabby there. He was about to go over to Dan when the Neko came back over to him. He thanked him for the food and sat back down to eat it, a silence falling over them. 

The tension about going over to the other side of the divide hung in the air, or at least for Phil it did. He kept glancing over at Dan until he was finished. He stood and threw away the bones before washing the plate. He was a little tense as he turned and looked at the Neko "I'm ready, lets go." 

Dan looked over at Phil when he said he was ready to go "Alright" he said softly as he picked up his beanie and pulled it on before retucking his tail. "The key is to act as normal as possible. Also, you want to get as far away from the guarded check points as possible. They only have one at about every five miles or so along the fence. If i'm honest as not as hard as you would think, as long as you can climb that is." He turned toward the door "come on" he prompted. 

Phil gave him an unsure look as he mentioned climbing. He had never been to good at climbing. "Yeah.." he muttered before grabbing his own bag and pulling it onto his shoulder. "I can act normal!" he stuck his tongue out at Dan before gently grabbing his hand. 

Dan chuckled and nodded "Good" he said softly. He walked out of his apartment and locked the door. He walked with Phil out of the building and started to lead him along the fence. Once they were about in the middle of two guard check points Dan stopped and turned toward the fence "I'll boost you up and over, yeah?" he asked. 

Phil knew nothing was going to go wrong. He knew it was going to be easy, he knew he could trust Dan; but he couldn't ease the knot in his stomach. Phil held onto Dan's hand until the brunet let go, it was then that Phil realized where they were "Okay..I'm ready when you are" he needed to try his best or they would both be in trouble. Phil put his foot in Dan's laced fingers and the moment he was pushed up he grabbed onto the fence and started climbing like a spider monkey. Phil got to the top and looked over at Dan with a grin "Need help?" he asked. 

"You're pretty good at that" Dan said softly with a smile before he shook his head "Nah, I got it" he said softly before he crouched low before springing up and grabbing onto the fence. He was able to get himself to where he had gotten Phil with a boost. He climbed up the rest of the fence with ease before swinging one leg over the fence. He looked at Phil for a moment before swinging over his other leg and jumping to the ground. 

Phil watched in amazement as Dan climbed up, he guessed the cat like reflexed was also something Neko's had; another thing to ass to the list. He saw Dan sung himself over with such grace and agility before landing unharmed. Now it was Phil's turn, he shifted a little closer but as he looked down, he froze. He couldn't do this, he couldn't jump; it was too high. "Dan..I..I don't think I can." He had never even thought about the possibility that he was scared of hights.

Dan frowned, looking up at Phil "You don't have to jump, Phil" he said, trying to comfort the other boy "Just climb down if you'd be more okay with that. You're okay, you're not going to fall. I'll catch you even if you do! come on, don't you want to see my home land?" he knew he had to get Phil off the fence. If they were caught like this they would be in a lot of trouble. 

Phil felt clammy, sitting up there all he wanted was to get down but the fear of falling and getting hurt was to much. "Y-yeah just give me a second" he decided to climb down, climbing slowly as he tried his best not to look down. Once he was close enough to the ground to jump he did. He landed without a problem and he felt oddly proud of himself "Shall we go on?" 

Dan smiled warmly at Phil once he had made it to the ground "Good job!" he said proudly before nodding "This way, we'll pass a couple other clans to get to mine, but it's not that big of a walk" he shrugged slightly and started to lead Phil into the dense woodland that surrounded them. This side of the divide was very different from the human side. There wasn't a building in sight, or road. Just trees and woodland as far as the eye could see. Dan slipped off his beanie and freed his tail, giving a content sigh "It feels good to be back here." 

"Wow, this place..it looks like something pulled out of a fairytale, it's beautiful." Phil watched Dan take off his beanie before quickly turning to run his fingers through Dan's hair. "Hey..Dan..Do you straighten your hair?" the question was innocent enough, he could see parts of Dan's hair that had gotten moist with sweat and had started to curl up and become kind of frizzy. 

Dan gave a small smile "I guess you could say that, It's more like untouched by human hands" he and chuckled before pausing when Phil asked him about his hair. He looked over at him for a second before nodding "Yeah, I hate it curly" he grumbled." They hadn't been walking all that long but they already walked past another clan, a smaller one then Dan's. Probably made up of only a few biological families, unlike Dan's that was made up of dozens." 

Phil frowned a little as Dan said that about his hair, slowly he reached up and ran his fingers through it. "Honestly, I think it looks better curly." He replied with a smile, he gently tugged at a curl before moving his hand away. "But that is up to you, I think your cute either way." 

He took Dan's hand as they walked, after a few minutes he noticed the clan. Wow this was the first time he was seeing one, he didn't mean to stare but was so mesmerizing. Phil gave a wave at a few Neko kids they passed by, he smiled at them. "Aww, they're so cute, Dan! We're you that adorable when you were a...baby...kitten...cub...child thing."

Dan burst into laughter at Phil's question "we call them babies, Phil" he said, shaking his head slightly "and you'd have to ask my mum but I'm sure I was adorable" he chuckled softly, swinging their arms slightly as they walked. They passed one other clan before entering the big almost perfectly round clearing that his clan called home. The second he was spotted by a few of the kids a chorus of small voices calling out "Daniel!" As they ran toward him. Dan laughed softly, bending to pick as many as he could up, hugging the children tightly "hello little ones, have you been good while I've been gone?" He asked them. 

A woman started to make her way over to the pair, holding out her hand for Phil "you must be a friend of Daniels, my name's Isabel. What's yours?" She asked, showing no signs of hesitation toward Phil.

 

He couldn't help but smile when all the kids came running to Dan, he even side stepped away so they could all run and climb onto him as if he was the latest theme park ride they just had to get on. 

It must be nice having such a huge amount of people around you, he wondered why Dan left. Phil didn't have time to think about that before the woman came over to him, he instantly felt nervous but quickly shook her hand. "Y-Yes. Hi I'm Philip, you can call me Phil. It's nice to meet you." He replied as he switched over to his very much polite speech he reserved for important events or people, like right now.

 

Isabel nodded "it's nice to meet you Phil, I'm sure you're going to love it here." She glanced over at Dan and laughed softly to herself. The kids were climbing all over him. She had to admit it was adorable but she also knew that Dan needed some time to settle back into things "come of Children. Let's leave Daniel alone now, come on" she prompted. The kids grumbled but slowly started to come away from Dan. Dan laughed, thanking Isabel before turning to Phil "come on, you need to get changed" he giggled, pocking his stomach gently "I hope you're ready!"

 

He watched as Dan was revealed from the children pile, he couldn't help laughing; they really loved him. Once Dan was back to his side, Phil took his hand and held it. "She seems really nice, Daniel." He teased a little with a small shot eating grin, but that quickly wiped from his face when Dan asked him if he was ready to change. "No..." He muttered but sighed. "As I'll ever be."

Dan nodded "yeah, she is. She's kind of like the nanny to the kids around her, she helped raise me" he shrugged slight before smirking over at Phil "I'm sure you'll look great! It's not like anyone is going to care around here. They will care more if you stay dressed" he pointed out before he started to lead Phil toward the hut that his biological family owned. He stopped inside, smiling over at his mum who was sat on the sofa, reading a book "hey mum" he greeted. He gave her a hug before introducing Phil.

Once introductions were out of the way, Dan lead Phil to his room. He handed him the cover that they all wore. It was two animal pelts, one for the front and one for the back. It was held together with vines and other things they could find that were kind of like rope. He turned his back to Phil and started to change.   
All Nekos in his clan were required to wear a bottom cover, the top cover was optional for female Neko's, male Neko's generally didn't wear a top one though.

Phil was glad to meet Dan's mum, she looked like a nice person and she greeted him so kindly, it made his chest ache. How could humans be so cruel, he had been here for only a few minutes and they had greeted him and treated him with nothing but love and respect, and kindness. How could anyone try to hurt them, he was almost crying when Dan lead him into his room. Phil smiled before quickly wiping away a tear that was leaking out his eye. " Oh uh...Thanks." He muttered as he took the cover, he was sniffling a little before he could fully focus on what he was doing or seeing. " Wow this is...interesting." Phil said with a smile, it was strange but he pulled off his shirt and dropped his pants. "So...I can't keep my boxers on, can I?" He started sliding those down as well.

 

Dan had noticed that Phil was crying a little, sniffling and things like that. He decided not to mention it, he was sure that Phil wouldn't want him to draw to much attention to it. He pulled off his shirt and dropped his pants before he heard Phil speak "most of us don't, but if you'd really like to you could" he said softly before dropping his own boxers and pulling on the covering. He felt at home now, he felt free and himself again "uh.. Let me know when you're good" he said softly, not wanting to turn around on a naked Phil, that would only make him feel more uncomfortable about all this.

"Well they're already off so...I guess they'll stay off." He giggled before kicking his boxers up and catching them, he placed them with the rest of his clothes and started getting the covering on. After a minute of making sure it was on securely and covering what it needed to, he turned to Dan. "Done, this is actually kind of nice, though I'm worried I'm going to blind everyone with my utter paleness, I look like paper."

Dan chuckled, setting his clothes out on the bed before turning to face Phil "you look good!" He insisted. He let his eyes run over Phil's body for a second before forcing himself to return his eyes to Phil's face. Phil had a lot more defined muscle then himself. Dan wouldn't say he was chubby, he was rather slim really but he lacked the muscle definition that Phil and a lot of other Neko's did have "come on, stuff will start to kick off for the night soon." At night living with Neko's was like a giant party. There was music that they played every night, music that got handed down from one generation to the next, songs and food. Stories and dancing. All around a big camp fire. It was honestly the funniest thing Dan could think of, even after being in the human world.

 

Dan wasn't the only one taking in the new view, Phil took his sweet time giving Dan a once over; a rather slowly and detailed once over as he wished he could imprint this in his mind. Despite Dan not being as defined, Phil was very much attracted to how soft and warm he looked, he was also tanned and something told him Dan could get even more tan. "Me looking good, seriously take a look in the mirror you're...you look really really good." Phil blushed before looking away from the hunky Neko before him, he cleared his throat before turning to Dan who started talking about something kicking off, it made him feel excited. "Alright let's go!"

 

Dan smiled softly back at him, reaching for his hand. He knew people here weren't going to ask questions about what their relationship was, which he was kind of thankful for "have you looked in a mirror?" He retorted, grinning up at him "trust me, you look really good" he said softly. He lead Phil over to the fire pit, which was still only smouldering. He knew as soon as it started to get dark it would be relit.

He started up a conversation with a few of the other Neko's that were sitting around the pit. Once he was sure Phil was distracted enough he snuck away, heading to the elders hut. He entered and bowed to them out of respect "I need to talk to you" he said softly. 

 

Phil sat quietly as he watched the Nekos running back and forth getting everything ready, he was about to asked Dan something when he realized the brunet was gone, he sighed before just getting up and asking if they needed help.

The elders were quietly speaking among one another when Dan walked in, they grew quiet before looking over at him. "Ah, Daniel. Back once more, how has your journey gone?" One asked, an elderly old man, his ears nicked and scarred, they told tales of the war. 

"Of course , my boy. Come in and sit, speak but let's not spend too long, the festivies are about to begin." Said a female Neko, she looked cheerful and robust despite her age.

"If you have forgotten, Daniel. Today is the star festival, we are overjoyed to see you here for this, our clan is together for this joyous occasion." The last of the three elder spoke, she was the youngest of then three but her silver threaded black hair spoke of her wisdom. "What was it that you wanted to speak to us about?" 

Dan smiled softly as the elders welcomed him in. He moved to sit with them, chewing on his lip slightly "my journey had been going very well" he started. If he was honest he had forgotten that tonight was the star festival. He was glad that he had decided to bring Phil her tonight though of all nights "during my time over on the other side this time, I kind of meet someone" he paused "well.. We already knew each other but.. Well something happened and.. Well I just remember that when I was younger you spoke to myself and some of the other younger Neko's about soulmates.." He trailed off, thinking for a moment "and this person makes my head all muddled so I wanted to get your view on all this." He took in a deep breath, watching them for a second.

The cheerful elder smiled as she heard him, he hands happy clasped over her mouth as she giggled and almost bounced where she sat. The male elder didn't look so happy, he looked a bit distraught as he looked at his third, the youngest seemed unsure. "Well, Daniel. We are glad you met someone, from the way you speak of them, they seem to be someone very important to you." She started, he voice gentle as her words were carefully plucked from her mind. 

" Oh it's true love." The cheerful elder said in a giggle. "That sounds like true love, like soul mates. Oh how romantic, especially on this day, it must be true love you two." She said as she looked at the two on to her right side. 

The male elder just sighed as he didn't look too convinced. "It might be, but I am not convinced." He grumbled. "He is a human...We cannot be too careful with them." He too look to his side, his left for the youngest. 

"I believe...you should follow your heart, it does sound like you may have found your soul mate and it is almost too perfect for it to be tonight of all nights; it seems this is fate or maybe even destiny."

 

Dan nodded, listening to them al carefully "when we kiss I just, I feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, it's like a fire is being set inside me.. It feels like nothing I've ever felt before and when I look at him, when he touches me" he shook his head slightly "it's indescribable" he said softly before looking up at him "thank you for speaking with me. I'm sure there's plenty of things that need to be done." He stood and left the hut. 

He spotted Phil still by the fire out, hanging stars the kids had made for the festival. He smiled softly to himself and made his way up to him, being sure Phil didn't hear or see him before he wrapped his arms around Phil's waist "gotcha!" He giggled.

The elders smiled and bid his farewell, a unsure look loomed on two of them as he left. Could a human be a Nekos soulmate? 

"This one is so nice. I once made square flakes with Dan for April Fool's day." Phil smiled as he helped the kids with their stars. Pretty cut pieces of thin tanned leather decorated by little hands, it was so cute. "Wish I could have brought glitter-" Dan hugged him and made the raven almost jolt, he looked back at Dan and was glad to see it was just him. "Ugh! I hate you, you scared me." There was no malicious intent behind his voice as he leaned back into Dan. "Where did you go, I thought you ditched me."

"I needed to talk to someone that's all" he said softly, holding Phil close to himself "why exactly would I ditch you?" He laughed, shaking his head slightly "it looks like you're doing well anyway." He pulled back and helped Phil put up the last of the stars "I hadn't even realised that today is the star festival, so you're in for a treat, Phil" he chuckled softly and took a step back, looking over the hung stars. Phil had done a really good job and hanging them, even he had to admit. 

"I think that's about all that needs to be done, thank you son." The Neko Phil had asked to help while Dan was gone spoke "why don't you take a seat and relax, the fire will be lit soon" he smiled warmly at Phil before glancing at Dan "it'll give the both of you some alone time, at least the most alone time you can get around here" he chuckled.

 

Phil flushed at what the Neko said but thanked them as he toom Dan's hand and lead him away. Phil was so happy, this place was amazing and beautiful, it really was like living in a fairytale. "That star festival. What do you celebrate?" Phil had already asked someone and got his answer but now he wanted to ask Dan and see if he would tell the same tale. Phil found the place they had been sitting and sat down before urging Dan to do the same.

 

Dan sat down next to Phil and smiled softly over at him "once a year there's a huge meteor shower that passes over here, they look like shooting stars, hence the name. Anyway, the same night that the shower happens is also the night the war was declared over so although we lost the war we were free and safe from the violence. We celebrate our freedom and the stars that signal it. It's kind of like a thank you to the stars as well, not just a celebration that we were free but also a thank you to the stars as its kind of believed that the stars are what saved us.." He chewed on his lip, hoping it made sense and didn't sound to silly.

 

It actually did make sense, a lot of sense to be honest. Phil was left look surprised at what Dan said it was beautiful. " Wow, that is amazing." He replied as he looked up at the sky, it was dark and some of the stars could already be seen twinkling above them, the sky was so dark and clear that Phil could even see some of the milky way galaxy; he leaned against Dan as he stared up at it. 

" It makes a lot more sense than what the other Neko told me, I should have known it was a lie from the amount of laughter." He smiled and chucked as he took Dan's hand and started telling him what he had been told. "They told me that it was from an old legend about the princess of the night sky and her lover, the prince of earthly plants. They were in love, the first soul mate's of the world but the king of mountains grew jealous of them so he grew tall mountains to separate them, and it worked. For a hundred years they were separated, they reached for each other but never enough. Then one night the villages heard the princess crying, her tears became falling stars and fell to the earth below, they took her stars and sent them up in lanterns, so many that they created a bridge for the Prince to climb up to see his soul mate. They were happy together, so once every hundred years the star festival is celebrated to honor their love and commitment, and how the world can work together for love. Also something to do with kissing or find your soul mate on that night, silly right? I can't believe I fell for that." Phil chuckled as he kept looking up at the stars. "It's a nice story though."

Dan bit his lip as he listened to Phil speak. He glanced back at the hut where the elders were, they had said that finding your soulmate on this night of all nights was like fate. Maybe the story was true in some shape or form, maybe it was a story that was told pre war, the elders were old enough to remember that time. He hummed softly to himself and looked back over at Phil "yeah, it's a nice story" he said softly as he snuggled up to Phil a little more. He wondered if humans believed in soulmates and fate in the same way that Neko's did. It was a strong held belief among Neko's, that was for sure. He watched as another male Neko came over to the pit, loading some starter wood into it before lighting it. Dan watched as the flames came to life, just as Isabel was coming around with the face paint, another tradition of the star festival. He looked over at Phil "uh, would you be okay with painting your face?" He asked "you don't have to if you don't want to I uh.." He trailed off.

Phil smiled as he leaned into Dan. "Yeah, I wonder where they got that story from. Maybe a book or maybe they just made it up, either way it's nice." He replied as he felt Dan's arms around him and it made him feel warm and fuzzy, it felt like he belong here; right in Dan's loving arms. 

He looked up when Isabel came with the paint, he sat up a little as he saw her then looked back at Dan. "No of course I'll do it, and I didn't think this night could get better." His wide grin and soft laughter as he sat there for her to paint it. His mind was going back to the story he had almost wished it was real, but alas it was not.

Dan smiled softly, watching Isabel paint Phil's face. Everyone got a special series of symbols painted on their faces that meant something to Neko's. He couldn't believe his eyes when he noticed the one that Isabel was painting of Phil's face. It meant outside brother, in simple terms it meant that the person who wore it was not from the clan but was an accepted member of the clan, not an official member of course. But it meant people liked Phil as they had to get permission from at least ten adult Neko's to have that painted. Isabel finished doing Phil's and moved onto Dan. Dan's symbol was always the same. His meant young warrior, which was pretty self explanatory.

He kind of wished he had a mirror so he could see the face paint, he could feel it on his face and it itched a little but he was happy to wear it. Phil glanced over at Dan as he watched his being painted on. The intricate lines over his face, the fluidity of it going on his face, he didn't think he could fall deeper for Dan but he swore he was. "Wow, that looks really nice." Phil said happily as he leaned a little closer to Dan so he could see it better. "You might look more attractive like this than normal." He playfully teased.

 

Dan chuckled softly, looking down at his out of the corner of his eye. He was trying his best not to move to much for Isabel. Once she finished and moved on to paint someone else Dan turned to him "mine means young warrior, I've had this one since I was little" he said softly "but yours, your makes me really happy" he said softly as he let his eyes run over the soft painted lines on his face "yours means outside brother" he whispered, pulling him in as close and as tightly as he could manage.

Phil hugged him back, smiled softly into the crook of his neck as he could almost cry. "Outside Brother, I really like this face paint." He said as he laid there in Dan's arms. Phil didn't need to hear the explanation or meaning, it spoke for itself...Though it would be nice to hear about it. "So they accept me here, oh Dan you don't know how happy that makes me." He smiled as he tried to keep himself from crying, he didn't want to ruin the paint.

 

Dan smiled and nodded "for someone to get that painted at least ten adult Neko's have to agree to it. It means they accept you into the clan... I mean you're not an official member of the clan but you are accepted here" he explain, kissing the top of Phil's head gently. He looked up as a few people started to play big bass drums, signalling the elders were about to come out to start the festival. Dan pulled away from Phil and stood, tugging on Phil's hand gently for him to do the same. They had to stand to show respect as the elders joined them.

 

Phil quickly scrambled up from the ground, he cleaned his bare legs free of dirt and twigs as he followed Dan. "Hey Dan, thank you...for everything." He smiled as he wrapped his pinkie with Dan's, he was happy here and if it was possible, he wished he could say here for the rest of his life.

The elders soon walked out of the tent, first the cheerful elder, followed by the younger one, and finally the male. They all stood before the fire as they started the festivities.

 

Dan smiled, glancing back over at Phil for a moment before turning to the elders "tonight we celebrate the star festival" the male one spoke. "As a lot of you know we are celebrating the night on which we were freed from violence, we also give thanks to the stars above for freeing us on this night" he younger one said. "We, as this clans elders now pronounce this years star festival under way. Enjoy" said the cheerful one, grinning over at everyone as someone threw extra fuel on the fire, causing to roar up into the sky as the drums started to grow louder and more rhythmical.


End file.
